Category Archives: Reviews

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Gus Van Sant’s ‘Restless’

Posted on September 12, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – “Restless” is a regrettably lame title for Gus Van Sant’s little film about a love affair that flourishes in the face of death, which against the odds is insightful, witty and charming. Annabel is beautiful … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘Moneyball’ starring Brad Pitt

Posted on September 10, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – “Moneyball” is very much about baseball, a traditional sports yarn about trying to beat the odds, but it is much more about family, breaking with tradition and economics, and it allows Brad Pitt to show … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: George Clooney’s ‘The Ides of March’

Posted on September 9, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – The title “The Ides of March” gives away what George Clooney thinks about politics: it’s a place where people will stab you in the front. As director, star and one of the writers, Clooney delivers … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’

Posted on September 5, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The pleasures of a John le Carré novel on top of the sublime writing come less from plot than from atmosphere and character and that is why his best spy novels make splendid miniseries, not … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘South Pacific’ at the Barbican

Posted on August 25, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The big numbers in the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” are so entertaining that the Tony Award-winning Broadway production at the Barbican until Oct. 1 is irresistible even though the production is a bit … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Anne Boleyn’ at Shakespeare’s Globe

Posted on August 21, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett Finally made it to Shakespeare’s Globe in London to catch Howard Brenton’s Tudor romp “Anne Boleyn” before it closes today. A hit this summer as it was on its debut last year, the crowd- and critic-pleasing production … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: ‘The Guard’ starring Brendan Gleeson

Posted on August 20, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – There is a fish out of water in John Michael McDonagh’s entertaining Irish crime yarn “The Guard” but it’s not the black American FBI agent parachuted into Galway on the hunt for a gang of … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: J. J. Abrams’s ‘Super 8’

Posted on August 5, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Pity the poor kids who flock to see “Super 8”, the new film from J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg about kids and aliens that Paramount releases in the UK today. It’s not just that once … Continue reading →

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MUSIC REVIEW: CBSO plays film music by Anthony Hopkins

Posted on July 28, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett In an evening of film scores played impeccably by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Howard Shore’s theme from “The Silence of the Lambs” caused shivers and every attempt was made to warn that Hannibal Lecter was … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’

Posted on May 10, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow is back in excellent form for his fourth adventure in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which is more serious in the hands of a new director, Rob … Continue reading →

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